Meta is shuttering Messenger's standalone website, which is a thing that exists

""After messenger.com goes away, you will be automatically redirected to use facebook.com/messages for messaging on a computer," the help page reads. "You can continue your conversations there or on the Messenger mobile app." Users will be able to restore their chat history after switching to the app by entering a PIN number. This is the same PIN that was used to initially create a backup on Messenger. It can be reset for those who simply don't have the bandwidth to remember yet another six-digit code."

"Many users have expressed discontent over the decision to shut down the standalone website, according to a report by TechCrunch. This is particularly true for those who have deactivated their Facebook accounts but continued to use Messenger. This comes just a few months after Meta shut down Messenger's standalone desktop apps. At that time, Meta directed existing users to Facebook to continue using the service and not the dedicated Messenger website. In other words, the writing has likely been on the wall since October."

"Messenger has had a long and storied history. The platform first launched as Facebook Chat all the way back in 2008. Facebook Messenger became a standalone app in 2011. The company has long-tried to make Messenger a thing outside of Facebook. It removed messaging capabilities from the main Facebook app in 2014 and began directing users to the Messenger app. Meta began reintegrating Messenger back into the Facebook app in 2023 and now here we are."

Meta will shut down the standalone Messenger website in April and automatically redirect web users to facebook.com/messages for messaging on computers. Web conversations can continue there or on the Messenger mobile app. Users can restore chat history after switching to the app by entering the same six-digit PIN used to create Messenger backups; the PIN can be reset. Many users, especially those who deactivated Facebook but kept using Messenger, have expressed discontent. Meta previously discontinued Messenger's standalone desktop apps and directed users to Facebook. Messenger launched as Facebook Chat in 2008 and began reintegration into Facebook in 2023.

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